The HearBuilder Phonological Awareness Test (H-PAT), for students ages 4;6 to 9;11, includes 15 total subtests to assess the following: letter-sound identification; rhyming (awareness and production); initial sound identification; blending words, syllables, and sounds; segmenting words, syllables, and sounds; deleting initial and final sounds; and substituting initial and final sounds. The H-PAT contains the same stimulus items as Section 1 of the Emerging Literacy and Language Assessment (ELLA). (Note: The H-PAT is a comprehensive phonological awareness assessment for all students and not just those familiar with the HearBuilder Phonological Awareness software program.)

The H-PAT meets IDEA and Reading First requirements for educators to use evidence-based resources when implementing Response to Intervention (RtI) or identifying children at risk for reading failure. The manual includes a Curriculum and Classroom Connection for each of the subtests and case studies to help you establish treatment and IEP goals.

Individual administration takes approximately 15–20 minutes. The H-PAT is norm-referenced. It includes standard scores, confidence intervals, percentile ranks, and age equivalents.

Meets Early Reading First and Reading First requirements to use evidence-based diagnostic tools.

Easy to administer and score.

Start ages and ceilings help reduce testing time and frustration.

Who May Administer the H-PAT?

Speech-language pathologists, special educators, resource specialists, reading specialists, school psychologists, and other professionals who are knowledgeable about literacy and language may administer the H-PAT. We recommend that test administrators be experienced in the administration, scoring, and interpretation of standardized assessments.

Valid and Reliable

The H-PAT is a valid and reliable instrument. The standardization sample includes over 1,200 children ages 4;6–9;11 from 40 states in the U.S. The standardization sample closely resembles the U.S. Census Bureau’s data (Statistical Abstract of the U.S. 2003). The sample includes children with identified language and learning disorders, as well as children receiving remediation in reading.

Obtaining Scores

Examiners may choose which subtests of the H-PAT they want to administer, depending upon the child’s area(s) of difficulty. H-PAT allows examiners to obtain standard scores for Rhyming, Blending, Segmenting, Deletion, and Substitution. Standard scores, confidence intervals, percentile ranks, and age equivalents are available for the Total Test.